Freire dropped a unanimous decision to Michael Chandler at May’s Bellator 44 event, falling one step short of a tournament win and a championship bid. He’s used that memory as motivation ever since.

“I feel even more determined to win the Bellator lightweight championship because I came so close before,” Freire said. “I don’t ever want to feel the taste of defeat again. No fighter likes to get close to something and not get it, so I will try not to make as many mistakes again.”

Freire on Saturday night takes the first step toward redemption when he meets gritty UFC veteran Kurt Pellegrino (16-6 MMA, 0-0 BFC) on the MTV2-televised main card of Bellator 59. It will prove a stern test for Freire, who was simply outwrestled and outworked in the Chandler encounter.

“The two biggest lessons I learned in my fight with Michael Chandler is that I need to improve my takedown defense and my conditioning,” Freire admitted. “That has been my primary focus in the gym ever since that fight.

“Fighting another wrestler in Kurt Pellegrino has definitely made me focus more energy on my takedown defense leading to this fight. It’s helping me even more to improve and correct the mistakes I made in my last fight.”

Pellegrino, of course, fights for the first time since he elected to walk away from the sport this past May following back-to-back losses to Gleison Tibau and George Sotiropoulos under the UFC banner. That retirement didn’t last long, and Freire isn’t expecting anything less than the very best from Pellegrino, who he believes may now be more motivated than ever.

“I think it helps Kurt Pellegrino get motivated to fight at the top of his game when he fights dangerous opponents such as myself,” Freire said. “But who knows, maybe he’s underestimating me a little and thinks he will take me down like Chandler did or make me gas. If that’s what he’s thinking, he will be very surprised.

“I’m not the same. I’ve worked hard to improve all aspects of my game, especially my flaws. I’m better physically, I’m better at takedown defense, I’m better at everything compared to last time I fought.”

Freire said he didn’t bother taking time off after his loss, instead heading immediately to the gym to fine-tune his game. The success he found in the season-four tournament allowed Freire to become a full-time fighter for the first time in his career, and he’s anxious to show the results of his efforts.

“My experience in the Bellator season-four lightweight tournament made me a lot stronger mentally,” Freire said. “It took a lot from me to stay away from my family for as long as I did. I also learned I always have to train at a high level. I didn’t take a break ever since the last fight. As soon as I came to Brazil I started training.”

Prior to the Chandler loss, Freire had earned impressive knockouts of Toby Imada and Rob McCullough, and many MMA pundits labeled him the favorite to win it all. That didn’t happen, but Freire said he’s not done trying. It’s Freire 2.0, and he’s ready to make a statement against Pellegrino.

“With every fight, you learn something,” Freire said. “I saw mistakes I was making in my fight with Michael Chandler, and I’ve been working very hard to fix them ever since. I’m trying to improve and to never make any of those same mistakes again. My goal is to be as close to perfect as possible.”

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